Who We Are

Who We Are

Women leaders in the municipal bond industry seeking to connect with other women and empower one another.

The Municipal Bond Forum is an annual event for women from all facets of the industry, including public finance bankers, analysts, traders, sales, issuers, underwriters, and portfolio managers. The forum will provide an opportunity for discussion, networking, and learning from women leaders in the municipal bond business.

MBWF Board

***Chairwoman***
Rachel Perlman
Stifel
***Term: present - TBD***
Rachel Perlman joined Stifel Financial as a Director in Municipal Sales in June 2022. She has served as Founder and Chairwoman of The Municipal Bond Women’s Forum since its inaugural event in 2015. Prior to joining Stifel Financial, Rachel helped reestablish the Municipal Bond department at Boenning & Scattergood. Rachel served on the board of Boenning & Scattergood from 2011-2014.
Prior to joining Boenning & Scattergood, Rachel worked in Institutional Sales at AH Williams (1991-1998). She began her career in 1986 at Tucker Anthony in Philadelphia and later joined Van Kampen Merritt (1988-1991). Rachel received her Bachelor's Degree in American Studies from Sweet Briar College.

***Vice Chairwoman***
Elizabeth Funk
Mesirow
***Term: 3 year***
Elizabeth Funk is a Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of the Mesirow Syndicate desk. She is responsible for committing capital on competitive new-issue bids as well as pricing negotiated transactions for municipal issuers across the country. Elizabeth is additionally a member of the leadership circle in charge of the firm’s Municipal Capital Markets Department.
Prior to joining Mesirow, Elizabeth held senior positions at Hilltop Securities, Citi and Stifel. She is a former National Board Member of Women in Public Finance where she chaired the Mentorship Program as well as a former program mentor for Rock the Street, Wall Street. Elizabeth has been involved in the Municipal Bond Women’s Forum since 2016 and has operated as the mentorship circle leader for the underwriting group since its inception.
She is a graduate of SIFMA-Wharton’s Securities Industry Institute and holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Kansas and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from Regis University.

***Secretary***
Kim Nakahara
Allspring
***Term: 2 year***
Kim Nakahara is a Senior Municipal Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager for the Global Fixed Income Research team at Allspring Global Investments. Kim joined Allspring from its predecessor firm, Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM). As an analyst, she covers a range of credit sectors including the state and local governments, water & sewer, higher education, health care, charter schools, and toll roads.
Prior to WFAM, she was a Director in the Municipal Markets Group at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where she was responsible for municipal bond origination. Earlier, Kim served as a program examiner for the White House Office of Management and Budget.
She earned a Bachelors degree in Sociology from the University of California, Davis and a Masters of Public Policy from the University of Michigan.

***Treasurer***
Amy Haklisch
Invesco
***Term: 2 year***
Amy Haklisch is a Senior Portfolio Manager for the Invesco Municipal Bond team focusing on Invesco’s Municipal Opportunistic Fund. Prior to joining Invesco, Amy was a Managing Director within the Global Spread Products division where she held various roles in sales management and leadership. She spent over a decade on the institutional Sales team advising institutional clients on relative value opportunities and portfolio management strategies.
Amy is an ardent supporter of women, having held many women’s leadership roles at Citi and a frequent speaker on panels at women’s industry events. She was integral in starting an organization whose mission was to support and retain women in Citi Markets by creating networking opportunities and platforms for women to present and lead initiatives. She has a long-standing commitment to training and recruiting next generation talent ensuring diversity and inclusion remained a focal point. Currently Amy is enjoying learning a new skill set as a Portfolio Manager at Invesco and is excited to be back in the market with old and new colleagues alike.
Amy holds a B.A. degree from Dartmouth College. She and her husband, Brian, have two girls and live in Tribeca.

Committee Members

Committee Members will assist new Board members. Committees tbd. 2 year term.

Kristen DeJong, Nuveen
Morgan Fahy, Build American Mutual
Ali Guida, Capital Group
Kim Olsan, Newsquare Capital

Advisory Committee

***Advisor to the Board***
Betsy Kiehn
Stifel
Betsy Kiehn is a Managing Director and Head of Municipal Capital Markets. Ms. Kiehn oversees and coordinates the activities of municipal institutional sales, trading and underwriting in support of Stifel’s Public Finance issuer and municipal clients. Based in San Francisco, Ms. Kiehn is also a Senior Underwriter, a role she has held since 2013. As an underwriter, Ms. Kiehn annually brings to market nearly 200 new issues including high grade, high yield, fixed rate, floating rate and convertible structures in nearly every sector. Ms. Kiehn is a former President and current board member of the San Francisco Municipal Bond Club. Ms. Kiehn currently serves as Vice Chair of the SIFMA Municipal Securities Committee. Ms. Kiehn has been with Stifel since 2004, when she joined Stone & Youngberg, which Stifel acquired in 2011. Ms. Kiehn holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Vermont.

***Advisor to the Board***
Leigh Nader
Assured Guaranty
Leigh Nader, CFA, is a Managing Director and Head of Assured Guaranty's Healthcare Underwriting Group. Her team is responsible for the origination and underwriting of bond insurance for hospital, private higher education, and nontraditional not-for-profit transactions nationwide. Leigh joined Assured Guaranty in 2005 as a Vice President in the healthcare group.
Prior to joining Assured Guaranty, Leigh was a founding member of the healthcare underwriting group for CIFG. She also worked as an underwriter in the public finance group of XL Capital Assurance, where she was responsible for not-for-profit transactions. Leigh began her career as an analyst in the Merrill Lynch Investment Managers Municipal Funds Group, where she was the lead analyst for the senior living and high yield hospital sectors.
Leigh is a Board Member of the Northeast Women in Public Finance and was a 2016 Bond Buyer Rising Star. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Boston University and is a CFA charterholder.

***Advisor to the Board***
Deborah Trachtenberg
Eaton Vance (retired)
Deborah Trachtenberg retired from Eaton Vance Management in September of 2021 rounding out a nearly five decade career in the municipal bond industry. As the Director of Municipal Trading, Trachtenberg helped to found Eaton Vance's municipal trading desk in 1997, following tenured stints as a municipal trader at Fidelity Investments, DLJ, and Chemical Bank. The desk she established at EV became an integral part of the firm's ability to create and implement its municipal investment strategies. She was viewed as a thought leader in the municipal market and a trailblazer for women in the industry.
Now, busier than ever, she can be found pursuing her life's passions as a mother, a grandmother, an avid world traveler, a passionate horticulturist, a humble Italian chef, a sports enthusiast, and the ultimate appreciator of her beloved dog, Stanley. While she is grateful for flexibility in her schedule and the ability to focus her energy outside of her career, she deeply misses the camaraderie of the municipal industry and the dynamism it provided in her life.
Ms. Trachtenberg is a board member for IronMatt.org and will continue to play an active role in the success of the Municipal Bond Women’s Forum.

Emeritus Board Members

Mary Jo Guida (Secretary), Bloomberg, retired
Colleen Meehan (Treasurer), Dreyfus, retired
Barbara Smallwood (Advisory), Estrada Hinjosa
Lindsey Wetzel (Advisory), Morgan Stanley